A daily, Bible-based perspective of hope,
encouragement and exhortation.
Daily
Encouragement on
Wednesday,
January 16, 2019
We
appreciate the Aaronic Benediction which is displayed on
a transom as you exit a cafe in Lebanon.
"The
Pattern Of Sound Teaching"
Message
summary: Today the
Church is in dire need
of more faithful
proclaimers of sound
doctrine, not swayed by
emotional hype or by the
patterns of this world
and its passing fancies.
Listen to our message on your audio player.
Listen to our message on your audio player.
"Hold on to the pattern of sound teaching that you have heard from me" (2 Timothy 1:13). "The things which you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses, entrust these to faithful men who will be able to teach others also" (2 Timothy 2:2). "For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine" (2 Timothy 4:3).
As
a young man of 21 I got
my license as a minister
in Southern Missouri and
began my first pastorate
in Fair Grove, MO. After
our move to the
northeast I was ordained
to ministry on May 8,
1979 which was also our
3rd wedding anniversary.
At the service Phillip
Bongiorno, our District
Superintendent, read a solemn
passage of Scripture
verses from 2 Timothy. Pastor
Bongiorno, who is still
living, is a short
Italian man who, prior
to his conversion to
Christ, had some mafia
associations. He would
often begin any message
he preached with a brief
testimony and inevitably
wept as he shared it.Standing in a
long line with other
ordinands as I held my
Bible and faced the
congregation though it
was in 1979, it has
become a lasting
memorable experience.
Pastor Bongiorno didn't
rush through the
Scripture reading but
slowly enunciated each
phrase and sometimes a
single word, pausing at
times to let them sink
in.
What a powerful Scripture selection; then, now and for all time! Today I especially consider the phrase, "For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine." I suppose to some extent that has always been true but it seems, in my nearly forty years of ministry as an ordained minister, that the ability to "endure sound doctrine" has diminished greatly.*
"I
solemnly charge you
in the presence of
God and of Christ
Jesus, who is to
judge the living and
the dead, and by His
appearing and His
kingdom: preach the
Word; be ready in
season and out of
season; reprove,
rebuke, exhort, with
great patience and
instruction. For the
time will come when
they will not endure
sound doctrine; but
wanting to have
their ears tickled,
they will accumulate
for themselves
teachers in
accordance to their
own desires, and
will turn away their
ears from the truth
and will turn aside
to myths. But you,
be sober in all
things, endure
hardship, do the
work of an
evangelist, fulfill
your ministry" (2
Timothy 4:1-5).
What a powerful Scripture selection; then, now and for all time! Today I especially consider the phrase, "For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine." I suppose to some extent that has always been true but it seems, in my nearly forty years of ministry as an ordained minister, that the ability to "endure sound doctrine" has diminished greatly.*
What does
that phrase mean,
"endure sound doctrine
(teaching)"? Other
versions render the
phrase: (see here
for this phrase in many
English translations).
"will not put
up with sound doctrine"
(NIV).
"will not
tolerate sound doctrine
and accurate instruction
[that challenges them
with God’s truth]"
(Amplified)
For one thing
we must endure due to
the constant pull of the
world to conform us to
this world's pattern. It
takes great endurance to
resist this pull and
stay faithful. But the
mission of the faithful
minister of the Gospel
in each generation is to
"contend earnestly
for the faith which
was once for all
handed down to the
saints" (Jude 3).
That is, obeying from
our hearts, the pattern
of sound teaching.
This pattern of sound teaching is established in Scripture. This pattern is fundamentally found in the changeless Word of God and has been expressed by the Church down through the centuries in creeds, catechisms and doctrinal statements. It is a declaration of what we believe.
The Greek word for "sound" is "hugiaino" which gives us our English word "hygiene" which of course refers to "clean or healthy practices". It connotes healthy, sound, wholesome, free from flaw, defect or error and emphasizes the absence of disease, weakness, or malfunction.
Bible commentator Albert Barnes describes sound teaching as "words conducive to a due observance of the proprieties of life; doctrines leading to contentment, and sober industry, and the patient endurance of evils (trials)."
Today the Church is in dire need of more faithful proclaimers of sound doctrine, not swayed by emotional hype or by the patterns of this world and it's passing fancies. "The world and its desires pass away, but whoever does the will of God lives forever" (1 John 2:17).
A.W. Tozer, who died over 50 years ago, had such insight in the condition of the church (in his own time and looking to the future). He wrote, "Increasing numbers of [Christians] are becoming ashamed to be found unequivocally on the side of truth. They say they believe, but their beliefs have been so diluted as to be impossible of clear definition."
Let us resolve to faithfully follow and proclaim the pattern of sound teaching as established in the Holy Scriptures! Paul challenged believers in Romans 6:17, "Obey from your heart the pattern of teaching that has now claimed our allegiance". Let us do so today and until we all get to heaven.
Be encouraged today,
Stephen & Brooksyne Weber
This pattern of sound teaching is established in Scripture. This pattern is fundamentally found in the changeless Word of God and has been expressed by the Church down through the centuries in creeds, catechisms and doctrinal statements. It is a declaration of what we believe.
The Greek word for "sound" is "hugiaino" which gives us our English word "hygiene" which of course refers to "clean or healthy practices". It connotes healthy, sound, wholesome, free from flaw, defect or error and emphasizes the absence of disease, weakness, or malfunction.
Bible commentator Albert Barnes describes sound teaching as "words conducive to a due observance of the proprieties of life; doctrines leading to contentment, and sober industry, and the patient endurance of evils (trials)."
Today the Church is in dire need of more faithful proclaimers of sound doctrine, not swayed by emotional hype or by the patterns of this world and it's passing fancies. "The world and its desires pass away, but whoever does the will of God lives forever" (1 John 2:17).
A.W. Tozer, who died over 50 years ago, had such insight in the condition of the church (in his own time and looking to the future). He wrote, "Increasing numbers of [Christians] are becoming ashamed to be found unequivocally on the side of truth. They say they believe, but their beliefs have been so diluted as to be impossible of clear definition."
Let us resolve to faithfully follow and proclaim the pattern of sound teaching as established in the Holy Scriptures! Paul challenged believers in Romans 6:17, "Obey from your heart the pattern of teaching that has now claimed our allegiance". Let us do so today and until we all get to heaven.
Be encouraged today,
Stephen & Brooksyne Weber
Daily
prayer:
Father,
we as followers of
Christ, must be
careful to follow the
Bible's pattern of
sound teaching. At
times we find
ourselves arguing with
Your truths and
teaching from
Scripture, our
thoughts being at odds
with Bible teaching
that doesn't fit in
with the views and
lifestyles we're drawn
to which are patterned
after the world's
thinking. Yet You are
the Author of truth,
You know that which
will bring us good and
that which will bring
us harm. Help us not
to read and interpret
Scripture so that it
aligns with our view
point, instead we want
to align our view
point in accordance
with the Scriptures.
We want to love You
with all our heart so
that we will follow
the pattern of sound
doctrine and walk in
accordance with the
Scripture. Amen.*
Additional note:
We indeed
see a hastening in the
departure from sound
doctrine and Biblical
obedience that seems
to be increasing
exponentially which
can be seen in some
national ministries
which have succumbed
to the spirit of this
age. I read reports of
a national conference
for young people that
for many years had
been a strong
proponent of Biblical
Christianity. This
year they had speakers
spouting practically
unimaginable heresy.
See here
or here
if you are interested.
So many
"Christian" Colleges
are now that in name
and heritage only and
are more interested in
being politically and
academically correct
than Biblically
faithful, often
mocking the teachings
of the Bible and
essentially the
college founders. The
word "politically
correct" is commonly
used to "describe
language, policies, or
measures that are
intended to avoid
offense or
disadvantage to
members of particular
groups in society." It
also seems to have the
sense of whatever is
currently popular. See
here
for an example.
I use the
term "academically
correct" to describe
those teachings and
notions which are
currently accepted
among the
"academically elite",
whether these
teachings are true or
not and so often they
are just plain crazy!
In other words those
who lead and teach at
any college desire to
be accepted and
approved by those
deemed academically
more qualified (in the
sense of having more
formal education and
degrees from
institutions deemed
prestigious like
Harvard, Yale, etc).
Who wants to be shamed
into being considered
"backwards" and
"ignorant"!
Let me
illustrate by a
current saga I have
observed for several
years from a distance
although I will not
use the name.
I read about
a man who at that time
served as a minister
in the same
denomination of which
I hold my credentials.
We have thankfully
held to Biblical and
traditional views on
marriage and
sexuality. This man is
an academic, having
advanced degrees, and
seems to consider
himself far smarter
than others due to his
degrees and
progressive ideas.
He began
advocating for a
change in our position
on marriage and
sexuality even though
he knew the view the
denomination held when
he signed up to be a
minister. The
honorable thing for
him to do would have
been to resign since
his views had changed.
But instead, as is
often the case with
apostasy, he was using
his influence to
advocate for his new
position. In his
estimation, since he
was so smart and
academically
qualified, the rest of
us should just go
along with his newly
evolving views which
were indeed
politically and
academically correct.
Thankfully
this came to the
attention of the
denominational
leadership and he was
dismissed, which
garnered him
considerable victim
status among those who
were like minded. The
leadership was seen as
backward and
mean-spirited by this
group. At that time he
was teaching at a
"Christian" college in
our area and received
support from his
colleagues.
I hadn't
paid any attention to
this matter for
several years but
recently read and
confirmed that he had
left that college,
left his wife and
children and was now
pretending to be a
woman (the
non-politically
correct way of saying
"transgendered") and
is struggling with
alcoholism. We pray
for him and for his
family even as I write
this message that he
would see the invasion
of darkness that has
covered the light of
God's truth in his
life, and that there
would be a return to
sound biblical faith.
Brooksyne
uses a rolling pin in
the course of baking
at times, but my
earliest memory of a
rolling pin was
watching my mom roll
out dough to make pie
crusts. Sometimes
she'd save a little
extra dough, roll it
out to make a small
crust, sprinkle it
with cinnamon sugar,
and after it baked it
was mine to enjoy -
kind of like a cookie.
The "All
That and a Bag of
Chips Cafe" in
Lebanon was originally
a bakery. The present
owners do a lot of
baking including
making all their own
breads. They display
these rolling pins and
use them regularly.
Today's
Suggested
Music and Supplemental Resources
"One Day (When We All Get To Heaven)" Video Calvary Church Choir and Orchestra (We've shared a link to this song the last several days but this is the version used this last weekend at Calvary Church where Brooksyne sings in the choir. It was a touching way to remember the deceased from the church from the last year. Some of our local readers may just recognize a familiar face among those presented in the power point presentation.)
A loving farewell to
our dear brother in Christ,
Jesse Dourte: Many times we
have featured photos and stories
about Jesse and Wilma Dourte in
our messages. Jesse pastored for
many years and was a faithful
proclaimer of the truth. At 95
years of age, his health was
failing and this morning we
learned that he was promoted to
heaven. Stephen visited him at the
hospital on Sunday and prayed with
him. Jesse told him that he was
looking forward to attending a
concert this Spring which features
the older hymns that his
generation grew up on. It was just
like Jesse to always be looking
forward to something! He was a
faithful contender of sound
doctrine and, instead of hearing a
church choir, he now gets to hear
the angelic choir in his new
imperishable and ageless body. We
thank God for his life and pray
for Wilma during this time of
transition.
Background of photo:
Jesse stands with Stephen behind
the pulpit in Mastersonville
church where he pastored for
several years in an interim role.
Jesse had been pastor there many
decades earlier and was very
supportive of our ministry there.
They preached behind the same
pulpit the unchanging Word of God.
Jesse was like a "father in the
faith" since we came to know him
and his wife Wilma nearly ten
years ago.
Finally today:
We often crossed the
Tappan Zee Bridge, a very busy
long narrow bridge across the
Hudson River north of NYC when traveling to and from New
England when we lived there in the
nineties. It famously swayed in
the wind on occasion and we recall
traffic backups on it. A new
bridge has replaced it and
yesterday a portion was imploded.
Video
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Personal Mission Statement: "I am created by God to bring Him glory. Through God's Son Jesus Christ I have been redeemed and make it my life's goal to please the Lord. My mission in life is to honor God through my faith and obedience and prepare myself and all whom I may influence for eternity."
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